Casting mechanism of typographical composing machines



Aug. 22, 1939. v. c, J. HARRISON CASTING MECHANISM OF TYPOGRAPHICAL COHPOS ING IACHINES, I

Filed Jfily a, 1938 Patented Aug. 22, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE OASTIN G IWECHANISM OF TYPOGRAPHICAL COMIPOSING MACHINES Application July 8, 1938, Serial No. 218,107 In Great Britain July 17, 1937 Claims.

This invention relates to typographical slug casting machines, such as those known commercially under the registered trade-mark Linotype, wherein lines of matrices are sustained in 5 casting position between a pair of vice jaws in front of a slotted mould which is held in metaltight contact with the matrix line and into which metal is injected from the rear of the mould slot.

More particularly the invention relates to machines of the before-mentioned kind which are equipped with quadding and centring mechanism whereby, prior to casting, one or both of the vice jaws is or are moved inwards to clamp a matrix line of a length less than that of the mould slot, a slug being thus produced with a blank portion at one end or blank portions at both ends, the rear face of the jaw or jaws serving to close the front of the mould slot where it extends beyond the matrix line. When such mechanism is in constant use, more especially for quadding or centring matrix lines composed without spacebands, there is a liability for metal tobe forced between the clamping face of a jaw and the matrix at the respective end of the line. If, in such circumstances, metal adheres to the clamping face of a jaw, it may eventually accumulate to an extent sufficient to cause damage to the wall of the formative cavity of a matrix at the end of a line when closing against it. p

The object of the invention is to reduce or remove this danger, and with this end in view the invention consists in a typographical slug casting machine comprising matrix line clamping jaws and automatically operated means for periodically wiping a jaw clamping face.

The invention will be clearly understood from the following description of one form, (given, however, merely by way of example), which it may assume, and the description will be more readily followed by reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figures 1 and 2 represent in front elevation the jaws and other relevant details of a machine according to the invention, in two different stages of operation.

In carrying the invention into effect in one convenient manner as shown in the accompanying drawing, there is provided a vertically reciprocable wiper, such as a pad or brush, which, during reciprocal movement imparted to it by a periodically operating organ of the machine, is adapted to pass over the clamping face of the respective jaw when the jaw is in the full line position. The wiper, as shown, acts upon the left-hand vice jaw, and its operation is controlled by the justifying mechanism.

The wiper comprises a felt pad I carried on the upstanding end of a Wiper lever 2, pivoted near its lower end to the free end of a second 5 laterally disposed Wipe-r actuating lever 3 which in turn is pivoted to a bracket 4 secured to the vice frame 5. The wiper actuating lever 3 is connected to the upper end of a vertically reciprocable actuating rod 6 guided in the actuating 10 lever pivot bracket 4, and having its lower end 1 extending into the path of the justification crosshead 8. The wiper lever is formed with an arm 9 projecting below its pivot l0, and acted upon by a spring I I connected to the actuating lever 3, 15 to hold the upstanding arm 2 of the wiper lever in contact with a cam I2 bracketed to the vice frame 5. The normal inoperative positions of the parts are shown in Figure 1, from which it will be seen that the cam l 2 holds the wiper away 20 from the plane of the clamping face of the jaw 43. When, however, the actuating lever 3 is moved about its pivot, in a clockwise sense as seen in the drawing, the lever 2 is moved from the cam l2, which is suitably shaped for this 25 purpose, and the wiper pad I contacts with and moves over the face of the jaw, as shown in Figure 2; A spring l4 acting upon the actuating rod 6 serves to retain the parts in an inoperative position with the wiper below the vice jaw, and the 30 actuating rod 6 is depressed to effect the operative stroke of the wiper I, against the action of such spring M, by the justification cross-head 8 during its downward movement. The downward movement of the cross-head 8 followed by an 35 upward movement permitting the wiper l to return to its inoperative position, takes place during the normal cycle of operations at a period when the jaw 13 is fully open, so that the: latter is free to move inwardly for quadding or centring 40 when a subsequent line of matrices is presented between the vice jaws. This slight downward stroke of the justification cross-head below and back to its normal position of rest is one which takes place in known machines, and occurs after 45 the first elevator has taken a line of matrices from between the jaws (following the casting of a slug), and the jaws have been moved to their fully open position, immediately preceding the coming to rest of the machine at the end of a 50 cycle of operations. It will be seen, therefore, that just before the end of each cycle the wiper I is temporarily moved over the jaw face, but comes to rest in. the position shown in Figure 1 when the machine stops. 55

It is to be understood that the constructional form above described is given merely as an example to facilitate an understanding of the invention, and that the invention may be carried out in connection with a wiper for either jaw or wipers for both jaws operable through suitable connections by any convenient periodically actuated organ of the machine. These, and various other modifications which become desirable in order to carry the invention into effect under diiferent conditions and requirements which have to be fulfilled, may be introduced without departing in any way from the scope of the invention.

Having described my invention, I declare that what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A typographical slug casting machine comprising matrix line clamping jaws and automatically operated means for periodically wiping a jaw clamping face, said wiping means being normally arranged out of contact with said jaw face.

2. A typographical slug casting machine comprising matrix line clamping jaws: and a wiper automatically actuated by a periodically operated organ of the macline during each cyclic operation of the machine, for wiping a jaw clamping face, said wiper when at rest being arranged out of contact with said jaw face.

3. A typographical slug casting machine comprising matrix line clamping jaws, line justification means, and means automatically actuated by said line justification means to wipe a jaw clamping face, said wiping means being normally arranged out of contact with said jaw face.

4. A typographical slug casting machine according to claim 3 wherein said wiping means are adapted to perform a complete wiping movement over the jaw face during the last portion of the cyclic movement of said line justification means before the latter comes to rest at the end of a machine cycle.

5. A typographical slug casting machine comprising matrix line clamping jaws, line justification means, and a wiper pad carried by a springloaded lever system pivoted to the machine frame and periodically actuated by said line justification means to wipe a jaw clamping face.

VERNON CHARLES JOSEPH HARRISON. 

